CAFCA eyes new markets in Sadc

Sunday Mail Reporter

CAFCA Limited, which currently exports cables to at least five countries in Southern Africa, plans to penetrate new markets in the region during the SADC Industrialisation Week slated for July 28 to August 2.

The event is a precursor to the 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit in August.

CAFCA, which is Zimbabwe’s sole cable manufacturer and is also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has over 1 000 product lines.

Speaking during a tour of the company’s premises last week, sales and marketing executive Mr Bazil Makoni said the firm intends to unlock more opportunities during the auspicious week.

“We sell, on average, 85 percent of our output to the local market every year. Exports contribute 15 percent of our sales revenue. Our biggest export market is Malawi, followed by Mozambique, Tanzania, Rwanda and Botswana. We hope that during the industrialisation week, we will be able to consolidate on existing markets and open new ones.”

Mr Makoni said they were angling for the DRC market.

“Previously, we have sold our products in the DRC, particularly in Lubumbashi and the mining region of Kolwezi. So, the importance of the industrialisation week cannot be overemphasised because it is a platform for us to try and reconnect with our old markets and also try to open new ones.”

CAFCA employs over 300 workers and has an installed capacity of 450 tonnes per month.

“We have set up an electrolysis plant because we are trying as much as possible to substitute our imports. The electrolysis plant is essentially purifying copper that is resident in some old mine dumps. We take it through various processes until we purify it to the grade of copper we need, which is 99.99 percent copper,” he said.

Director for industrial development in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce Mr Innocent Madziva commended CAFCA for its performance.

“The operations at CAFCA speak to the objectives of the SADC Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap that promotes industrialisation in the region. As we prepare to host the SADC Industrialisation Week, we are engaging with such companies so that they can take full advantage of the summit and grow their business within the region.”